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The Secret Agent cover art

The Secret Agent

By: Joseph Conrad
Narrated by: David Threlfall
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Summary

Exclusively from Audible

The Secret Agent is based on an actual attempt made in 1894 to blow up the Greenwich Observatory. A labyrinth of greed, corruption, and betrayal, it is the most darkly humorous of all Conrad's tales.

It follows a European secret agent, Adolf Verloc, 'a London shop owner' with anarchist leanings who becomes reluctantly involved in a plot to blow up the Greenwich Observatory. Full of great characters, melodramatic irony and psychological intrigue the tale is far from simple, involving politicians, policemen, foreign diplomats and London's fashionable society.

This classic was written at a time when terrorist activity was increasing. Due to its themes of anarchism, espionage, and terrorism, the book still retains great interest from its audience and was regularly cited by the American media after the September 11 attacks. The New York Times described it as acquiring 'a kind of cult status as the classic novel for the post-9/11 age.'

Though the story did not attain popularity during Conrad's lifetime it is still considered to be one of his finest novels.

Narrator Biography

Having studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, David Horovitch has had a television career spanning over 40 years. One of his most notable roles was in 1984 as Detective Inspector Slack in the first BBC Miss Marple adaptation The Body in the Library. Due to the success of his character, he returned for four Christmas specials. He has had roles in other shows such as Just William (1994), Foyle’s War (2002) and Wire in the Blood (2005) as well as film appearances in The Young Victoria (2009), 102 Dalmatians (2000), The Infiltrator (2016) and Mike Leigh’s Mr Turner (2014). A long time star of the stage, in 2015 he played the role of George Frideric Handel in All the Angels by Nick Drake at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. As well as narrating numerous audiobooks David Horovitch narrated Audible’s multicast drama The Oedipus Plays.

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about The Secret Agent

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    4 out of 5 stars

Faulty product

Joseph Conrad's darkly humorous fictionalisation of a real-life attempt to blow up the Greenwich Observatory is a classic and excellently narrated by David Threlfall. Unfortunately the product itself was faulty, with chapter 4 missing and playing chapter 13 in its place. Audible admitted the fault and refunded my credit without any quibbling. I'm therefore surprised to find that the book hasn't been withdrawn from sale as I was assured that I would be alerted once the fault was corrected.

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57 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The Secret Agent

I really loved this. Tried to read this book, but my dyslexia got the better of me. Listened to this and was very impressed by the quality of the narration.

It is rightly a classic!

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

avoid

What disappointed you about The Secret Agent?

Having finished the book I found it a struggle to get through.
Reading the reviews afterwards I suspect some of the chapters were played out of order because time lines were very hard to follow.

Hard to know because none of the chapters are spoken during the performance.

Would you be willing to try another one of David Threlfall’s performances?

yes

Any additional comments?

avoid.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Conrad's dark masterpiece finds its perfect reader

If all you know of David Threlfall is Frank Gallagher from Shameless, you may be surprised by this performance of what is arguably Conrad's masterpiece. There's a quietness about this reading, a thoughtful, untheatrical performance which allows Conrad's words their full force, shifting from brutal naturalism to impressionism and, apparently accidentally, anticipating many techniques used decades later in film. If you are uncertain whether you could get on with Audiobooks, try this one first.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing book brilliantly read

I'd have given this ten stars if that had been an option. David Threlfall brought this to life

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

The story of a reluctant spy and a tragic plot

Joseph Conrad continues to write about the dark side of humanity, similar to his other work the Heart of Darkness. The book reads like two separate tales - that of the Verloc family and that of the anarchists.

Set in bleak Victorian London, the novel follows the life of Mr. Verloc, a secret agent, who also is a married businessman on the side selling inappropriate bric-a-brac. His friends are a group of anarchists of which three people are most prominent. Although largely ineffectual as terrorists, they are well known to the police. Verloc is also secretly employed by the Embassy as an agent provocateur. And here it all falls apart.

The more intriguing part of the book surrounds the family, especially his wife Winnie who essentially behaves like a timid matriarch before becoming distraught over the thought of being hanged. Stevie, Winnie's brother who has a mental disability, is treated more like a son than a sibling. And when he encounters tragedy, Winnie changes into a completely different person.

At times, the political aspect can be long-winded, but it ends in a major climax so it's worth getting to the end.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Just magnificent narration

Threlfall brings Conrad and the slimy drained aquarium of London back to full life. Superb.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

strong story and performance

A great story about the (mis)fortunes of terrorists and spies. excellent performance. highly recommended, not in the least because of the writing style. the book feels contemporairy although written more than a century ago!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • EM
  • 07-09-22

great classic

A great classic performed beautifully. A gripping and harrowing tale. Conrad captures the most intense humanity.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Great Author…

… but it’s heavy-going. Conrad tends to dwell over-long on scenes, whether a description of an early morning in London, or the protracted Embassy interview. A novel with a title like The Secret Agent needs to skip along much more lightly.
I lost interest and gave up!

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